On A Clear Day First Preview — Page 6

Copperfield,

I too would like to see Gehling play David. He would invest the part with the kind of spark it desperately needs.




Henrik,

I understand the plot of the show I think the original, flawed as it was, was better. As for David, it's not just a question of his being too mild mannered. He's too wishy-washy and wimpy for an audience to really connect with, or care about. Ultimately, he's a drip, and one wonders why Warren would even be interested in him. The inherent failings of the part would prove a challenge for any actor. It would behoove him to add something extra to engage our interest. I don't believe Turner does this and as a result, David emerges as a nonentity, blending in with the scenery.

Connick plays another very constricted, blank-slate character, and it's hard for an auduence to connect with that. You need a really skilled actor to pull that off, and Connick isn't it.

Copperfield,

I have a different feeling about the songs. I think the songs from the original show should be retained and the interpolations tossed, not because of the latter's merits, or lack thereof, but because I don't think they blend well with the sound of the original ones. And they shouldn't, since they weren't written at the same time, or for the same piece or characters. But that's always the problem with additions and interpolations. They prove an awkward fit, and you can feel it.

Here is 14 minutes and 36 seconds of Barbara Harris and John Cullum in a few songs from the original:

http://youtu.be/yyw-HEAUr40

Includes Barbara Harris performances of:

"Hurry, It's Lovely Up Here"

"On Board the SS Bernard Cohn"

"What Did I Have I Don't Have Now?"

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Updated On: 11/21/11 at 08:06 AM

I think a point of discussion is what do we expect when we go to see "On a Clear Day You Can See Forever."

When they created "Crazy For You" they could have still called it "Girl Crazy" and not many would know about the changes they had made. Reworked book, cut songs, added songs. When they retitled the work "Crazy For You" we didn't expect to see a faithful "Girl Crazy" on stage, but rather a new creative work that we realized would borrow from the earlier work, but would stand on its own (and one could argue surpass the original). "Crazy For You" was also billed as a new musical, not a revival.

If they wanted to do a Lerner/Lane catalog show that was loosely based on "Clear Day" they could have easily done that. Telling us this is a revival and judging from the marketing, description on the website, etc that doesn't mention the gay twist or updating, one is reasonable to expect to walk in and hear "Hurry It's Lovely Up Here" and "On the SS Bernard Cohn." I agree that these songs don't fit in so well with the tone nor plot they have created- but they are what I expect in a "Clear Day" revival. Perhaps if they had retitled the piece and really went for broke overhauling it our expectations would be different and so would our enjoyment.

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After Eight, there's a long traditon of shows and operas modifying their scores, so I don't think that's a big deal. And here, the interpolated songs generally have a great deal more to do with the story, even as originally conceived, than half the numbers in the original score (unfortunately, some of those same gratuitous songs are still in the revival). However, I agree that given how radical a restructure this is, it's odd they didn't modify the title a la Crazy for You.

Right, but since Melinda's story is now of a 40's singer trying to make it, those songs fit into her own story simply as her stock and trade (as much as Don't Tell Mama and Mein Lieber Herr relate to Sally's story in Cabaret). Besides Open Your Eyes, Melinda's other songs include Too Late Now and On A Clear Day (reprise).

" Telling us this is a revival..."

Except, Whizzer, that the TV ads are touting it as a NEW musical starring Harry Connick Jr.

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"Melinda's interpolated songs have nothing to do with her character or any dramatic situation in the show, and are completely generic - they could as easily and pointlessly be sung by anybody, anywhere."

And that's the problem with comparisons to CRAZY FOR YOU (or the modern versions of ANYTHING GOES and BABES IN ARMS, that also rely heavily on interpolations). Gershwin, Porter and Rodgers & Hart wrote in a period when songs were written in the author's voice, not the character's. So interpolating songs from other shows by the same writers often works very well.

(ETA Whizzer's point about CRAZY FOR YOU above had to do with audience expectations, not interpolations. I wasn't responding to him here, but it might appear I was misrepresenting what he said. I regret my lack of clarity.)

However slight its plot, CLEAR DAY is from a different era, when Rodgers & Hammerstein had changed the "rules" by writing each song in the voice of the character. This isn't to say interpolation is impossible, but I'm not surprised by After Eight's objections. Frankly, I wouldn't expect songs from movie musicals to blend with the original score.

(Comparisons to CABARET and other later musicals influenced by Brecht are equally problematic for different reasons.)

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As for not inviting the workshop audience to a post-show discussion, I have attended countless such sessions and have yet to hear a constructive criticism. How an audience responds during the performance is one (often valuable) thing; what audience members THINK is the problem is another. It's a rare viewer (even including people from the industry) who is qualified to discuss a show after one viewing.

(ETA2: obviously, we all discuss shows after a single viewing. What I should have said was "immediately after a single viewing without time for reflection.")

But speaking of the workshop, I thought I read pages ago that "When I'm Being Born Again" was cut. What is the narrative context for it in the adaptation?

Updated On: 11/21/11 at 02:54 PM

Now I get it, henrik. Just as "Honey Bun" is an appropriate period pop song in the middle of SOUTH PACIFIC. Thanks.

Updated On: 11/21/11 at 05:01 PM

Of course, I'm discussing a play I haven't seen, but "Honey Bun" is one number, not Nellie's entire score. I could understand if some think the adapted Melinda doesn't really "come to life" if all her songs are period pop (while other characters sing 60s' book songs). And I can also understand why others would think that a great dramatic device.

Did you see my question about the context for "Born Again"? I thought the Greek tycoon was cut from the plot...

I saw this yesterday, 11/20/11.
I remember a thread on this website pertaining to the marquee when it first went up. Comments were on the negative side: "Anyone with a photoshop could have done a better job" to "It is Fugly.

The marquee foreshadowed the production.
The curtain was fugly.
The sets were fugly.
The costumes were fugly
I could go on,,,but I shall spare myself from remembering it all.

One thing that was mediocre was the singing from Mr Connick.

Folks can take this show apart and try to see all sorts of plot and character development but to what avail?

It never really worked....ever (or F-ever.)

There were three highlights to my Sunday in New York.
3. I got a rush ticket for 30 bucks so I did not lose too much money.
2. It will be a cast recording I wont buy and I shall save the $15 or so. (that is if they record)
3. I got a Bonnie and Clyde for the evening and that was my Sunday salvation.

I cant see any positive reviews for this show.
Bottom line, it was not entertaining for me at all. They showld send Bonnie and Clyde over to this show and they would know how to fix it.

DF

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I thought too the syntax of those lyrics would be jarring coming out of the mouths of psych students, unless they were channeling a long-deceased Greek--Melinios from the olden isles? Remember how the original of the song had a beat like that of Greek dance music? I wonder if that sounds Hare Krishna-esque if speeded up?

Updated On: 11/21/11 at 06:21 PM

We're seeing Private Lives in the afternoon & Clear day @ night

Never having seen the original & being disappointed with the movie, I am going into this with an open mind.The score is the salvation.

I have a really rare LP of cut songs from movie musicals.One of them is Jack Nicholson singing "Who is There Among Us Who Knows". It was apparently written for the film but cut out

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